Chapter 1637: Astronomical Auction

Translator:

Exodus Tales

Editor:

Exodus Tales

Chapter 1637 – Astronomical Auction

Heaven’s Burial wasn’t the only Guild caught off guard by Zero Wing’s sudden transformation. All of the various large Guilds were astonished.

They hadn’t realized that Zero Wing had such a solid foundation.

This was especially true regarding the Mana Tower in Zero Wing City. The construction had skyrocketed the Mana density in the city, making the already-attractive city even more popular among players.

Now, the various powers and players that had originally believed Zero Wing’s downfall had been inevitable began to see a little hope for the Guild.

“Who would’ve thought Zero Wing could still make such a move?”

“Now, thanks to the Mana Tower, Zero Wing City’s player population has gone through the ceiling. With this, the city’s income will drastically increase. It seems that Heaven’s Burial won’t be able to wear Zero Wing down in a short amount of time.”

“That’s definitely true. Based on what I’ve heard, over 5,000 additional players have secured teleportation members.h.i.+ps in Zero Wing City since the Guild implemented the new changes.”

“Indeed. The number of Orcs guarding the Orc Empire’s borders continues to increase, and the borders are becoming even more difficult to cross. The distance is a huge problem as well. By teleporting straight into the Orc Empire’s outer region from Zero Wing City, players can save over ten hours of travel time. They won’t have to worry about Orc patrol squads ambus.h.i.+ng them, either. The only problem is the expensive teleportation fee; it’s not affordable for ordinary players like us.”

…

When discussing Zero Wing City’s enhanced teleportation function, whether they were members of the various major powers or independent players, they all wore hungry expressions.

At this point, the Orc Empire had become a gathering point for multiple kingdoms and two empires. However, the journey there was still a problem that plagued all of the players who wanted to visit the Orc Empire. Unlike Heaven’s Burial’s members, who could teleport to Ancient Rock City directly, other players had to travel for a minimum of ten hours just to get from their respective countries to the Orc Empire’s outer region. To make matters worse, they could only grind in the area for a limited time before they had to return to a city or town to rest due to the empire’s poor environment.

Although there were Guild Towns and a Guild City within the Orc Empire, these places had a limited number of hotels. There wasn’t nearly enough accommodation for every player adventuring in the Orc Empire.

This meant that the majority of the players visiting the Orc Empire were forced to return to their countries’ NPC cities to rest, spending another ten or so hours to travel back to the Orc Empire.

However, Zero Wing City had changed everything. Not only could players save precious time while traveling across the Orc Empire’s borders, but they could also circle around the powerful Orc patrol squads and Mutated Orcs.

Because of this, the number of players who gathered in Zero Wing City continued to increase.

The only problem these players had to face was the money they’d have to spend to get to the empire. There was also the matter of traveling to Zero Wing City.

Although players could teleport to Zero Wing City via Evernight City, they still had to cross quite a distance to get from Star-Moon City to Evernight City. Fortunately, this problem was practically negligible compared to the potential benefits of saving so much time during their travels.

As a result, the various major powers and adventurer teams that hadn’t initially been interested in Zero Wing’s latest auction rushed to Stone Forest Town’s Zero Wing Auction House.

Currently, despite there still being over an hour before the auction officially began, players already crowded into the s.p.a.cious Advanced Auction House, many of which were members of the various large Guilds. There were also plenty of well-known adventurer teams from the multiple kingdoms and two empires that neighbored the Orc Empire.

“Big Sis Aqua, more than 50,000 players have already arrived to partic.i.p.ate in the auction. At this rate, we might even have 70,000 partic.i.p.ants by the time the auction starts,” Yaya said excitedly as she read the statistics report in her hands.

Although Zero Wing was about to host its auction, not just anyone could take part. They had to fulfill certain conditions first.

If one wished to enter the auction venue, they needed a minimum of 100 Gold in their bags. If one wished to use the VIP rooms, then they had to have a minimum of 10,000 Gold.

The Advanced Auction House was even larger than the Candlelight Trading Firm in White River City. Not only could the largest auction hall house 100,000 people, but it also had 100 VIP rooms. Even so, all of the VIP rooms had been claimed…

When Aqua Rose saw the statistics, she, too, was shocked.

Even Super Guilds’ auctions had trouble attracting such a colossal crowd.

Aqua Rose finally understood why s.h.i.+ Feng had said that this was only the beginning.

With so many people contesting for Zero Wing City’s private houses and Shops, it would be strange if these properties did not fetch a high price.

Following which, time pa.s.sed quickly. Under Aqua Rose’s guidance, Zero Wing’s auction began smoothly.

Although this was an impromptu auction, the available items were still of considerable quality, all of which were quite valuable to Guilds and players. In fact, Zero Wing even intended to offer plenty of Level 45 Dark-Gold and Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment.

“Next up is our auction’s first finale item—Zero Wing City’s private houses! The first private house is located behind Zero Wing City’s Battle Arena. The starting bid will be 1,500 Gold, with each increment being no less than 50 Gold!”

As Aqua Rose, the auction’s host, finished speaking, the crowd stirred. The players in the VIP rooms, in particular, who had, thus far, shown no interest in the items for auction, stared longingly at the image on the large display above the stage.

“c.r.a.p! Zero Wing actually dares to ask for such a price?!”

“Even the private houses in major NPC cities don’t cost 1,500 Gold!”

“Is Zero Wing that desperate for money?”

…

Many of the players present were shocked by the minimum bid Aqua Rose had stated.

The private houses in NPC cities with player populations in the millions only sold for around 1,000 Gold. A few of the private houses in strategic locations only sold for a little more than that. Meanwhile, players didn’t have to worry about attacks or sieges in NPC cities, but it was a different story for a Guild City. There was no telling when another major power would attempt to take the city for itself.

Zero Wing was simply insane for trying to sell an unstable private house for such a high price.

Honestly, even Aqua Rose considered the price somewhat high, but s.h.i.+ Feng had determined the minimum bid–1,500 Gold and not a Coin lower. Hence, she had no choice but to go along with his wishes.

However, after the auction’s guests discussed the private houses in hushed tones, voices began to echo throughout the auction hall one after another as they began to place their bids.

“One thousand, six hundred Gold!”

“One thousand, seven hundred Gold!”

“One thousand, eight hundred Gold!”

…

The rapidly increasing prices flabbergasted everyone.

After a short moment, the price had risen to 2,200 Gold. The bids only slowed after reaching this point.

In the end, Remnant Cloud, the commander of the Firecloud Fox adventurer team, won the first private house for 2,550 Gold. Because of the winning bid, the spectating major powers envied Zero Wing. A single private house barely took up any of a city’s land, yet Zero Wing had earned so much money from a single private house.

At the same time, many of them pitied Remnant Cloud for his foolish decision.

Although Zero Wing’s situation had improved significantly, its chances of defeating Heaven’s Burial were still slim. Purchasing a private house for so much money was foolish.

However, as the various large Guilds’ upper echelons entertained such thoughts, the second private house sold for 2,700 Gold…

In total, Zero Wing had sold 15 private houses. Every one of them had sold, with the cheapest going for 2,450 Gold and the most expensive earning 2,800 Gold. The price could already rival that of high-potential Lands in NPC cities.

As for Zero Wing City’s Shops, the minimum bid was a frightening 5,000 Gold, with each increment being no less than 100 Gold. In the end, of the five Shops that had sold, the cheapest sold for 7,800 Gold, while the most expensive one had gone for 8,500 Gold…

During this single auction, Zero Wing had gained a net profit of more than 120,000 Gold.

When Aqua Rose saw the final numbers, she even wondered if she were dreaming.

“Guild Leader, with this much money, we can purchase a large amount of Level 45 equipment and replenish our warehouse! We can definitely help our Guild members recover their full strength!” Aqua Rose’s eyes glistened when she saw the profits the auction had raked in. It had been a long time since she had seen so much money.

“No. Set the Guild Warehouse’s replenishment aside for now. First, prioritize the NPC Shops’ construction,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, shaking his head.

He had never intended to sell Zero Wing’s precious lands just to help the Guild’s members recover their lost weapons and equipment. Although the Guild members items were quite important, they paled in comparison to the NPC Merchants’ Shops.

NPC Shops were the lifeblood of a Guild City. Only after gaining NPC Shops could a Guild City start its endless cycle of development.

“I understand. I’ll get to it immediately.”

Hearing s.h.i.+ Feng’s words, Aqua Rose recalled the NPC Merchants that had visited Zero Wing City to discuss business. Due to the Guild’s lack of funds, they had delayed the NPC Shops’ construction, but now that the Guild had money to spare, it was indeed time to address the issue.